In a visual user interface, such as a web browser, a user can place a “bookmark” at a point within a web based application to allow the user to later return to that point in the application. Through selecting the bookmark, the user can return to a specific web page in that application that the user previously selected. However, a web bookmark may return the user to the beginning of the page, not a specific point on the page. Usually, it is sufficient for the browser to return the user to the beginning of web page because an entire web page is typically displayed at once.
In a voice based application, such as an application based on VoiceXML, however, a single location cannot be bookmarked. This is because a VoiceXML page may be static or dynamically generated, and it typically consists of a tree of dialogues, each typically asking a question and receiving an answer that determines the next dialogue. The address of the page always starts dialogue at a predetermined point, but the user may wish to bookmark a different point within the dialogue.
In one example, a VoiceXML based voice application provides a horoscope service. It begins by saying “Welcome to XYZ Horoscope Service. If you know your sign, say it; otherwise say ‘Don't know.’” If the user now says “Don't know” the dialogue might proceed as follows:
Horoscope Service:“Please say your birth month.”User:“December”Horoscope Service:“On what day in December were you born?”User:“6”Horoscope Service:“Your sign is Sagittarius. Here is your horoscopefor today.”At this point the system selects the appropriate horoscope and plays it for the user.
In the above example, if the user instructed the browser to place a bookmark, a prior art system would create a bookmark that brings the user to the beginning of the VoiceXML page that says “Welcome to the XYZ Horoscope Service” because the browser saves only the URL of the page. This may not be desirable if the user was expecting to only hear his horoscope.